Orsted has made a long-term commitment to help tackle the amount of marine litter in the UK’s seas.
Working with the fishing industry, Orsted has established a Fishing for Litter project at ports in Grimsby, Cromer, Kings Lynn, East-Runton and Boston – with ambitions to expand the project across the English coast.
Orsted’s Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm will provide funding for Fishing for Litter disposal facilities at up to six ports along the east of England for the approximately 30-year life of the project.
Vessels participating in the scheme are given hardwearing bags to collect marine litter that is passively caught while fishing. Full bags of litter can then be taken ashore for disposal in dedicated skips.
Orsted’s Fishing Industry Representatives, who have well established and often long-term relationships with fishers working within the vicinity of Orsted’s offshore wind farm projects, act as liaison officers for the Fishing for Litter project.
Lara Leonard, Commercial Fisheries Manager at Orsted, said: “Our aim is to provide long-term action and to work alongside fishing communities to help them be at the forefront of the fight against marine litter.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve been engaging directly with fishers and fishing organisations to make sure that we can facilitate an effective and functional solution which works for them. Our main focus is to aid and empower fishers to make a difference, while also building on the positive relations with the fishing community who work within or near to our wind farm sites.”